The Director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology Wang Yanyi said that claims that the coronavirus was leaked from her lab are completely false.

"This is pure fabrication. Our institute first received the clinical sample of the unknown pneumonia on December 30 last year. After we checked the pathogen within the sample, we found it contained a new coronavirus, which is now called SARS-CoV-2," Wang said.

"We didn't have any knowledge before that, nor had we ever encountered, researched or kept the virus. In fact, like everyone else, we didn't even know the virus existed. How could it have leaked from our lab when we never had it?"

Hear more from Wang's interview with CGTN's Hu Chao.

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